Begun by Mitch Podolak, Colin Gorrie, and Ava Kobrinsky in 1974[2] as a celebration of Winnipeg's centennial, the Winnipeg Folk Festival has grown into an event with attendance of over 80,000 over the five days each year. The festival is held over the second weekend of July, beginning on Wednesday night and running through Sunday night.

A diverse Food Village offers a large variety, with an emphasis on local, organic, and fair trade ingredients. Meals are served on reusable plates which diverting over 100,000 paper plates from landfills each year. The Hand-Made Village celebrates the long-standing history that folk art and crafts share with folk music festivals and features artisans from all over Canada and the United States.

Performances during the day are held at several smaller stages where performers are presented in thematic concerts and workshops resulting in very intimate performances. The stages are named Big Bluestem, Little Stage In The Forest, Spruce Hollow, Bur Oak, Green Ash, Snowberry Field, Shady Grove, Chickadee (children's stage), and the Northern Lights Main Stage.

Camping is a popular at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, and the festival operates two unserviced campgrounds. The Festival Campground is known for its late night animation and jams and the Quiet Campground is located 4 km from the festival site. Camping is also available at the Birds Hill Provincial Park Campground. A free shuttle service operates between all campgrounds and the festival site.

Over 3,000 volunteers work at the festival each year. The Winnipeg Folk Festival generates approximately $29.4 million per year in economic activity and creates over 281 jobs for Winnipeg, Manitoba.[3]